1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pointing device used for inputting a signal in an X-Y direction in various kinds of electronic equipment such as a remote controller, a game machine, a cellular phone and the like, and more particularly to a slide operation type pointing device for slide operating an operating body along a plate surface of an external mounting substrate.
2. Prior Art
There is a slide operation type pointing device as a device for inputting a signal in an X-Y direction. This pointing device is generally provided with a case fixed to an external mounting substrate, a sliding type operating body attached to said case for inputting a signal in an X-Y direction and slid in all the peripheral directions along a front surface of the mounting substrate, a pair of moving bodies linearly moving in an X direction and a Y direction within the case together with the slide operation of the operating body, and an internal substrate positioned below a pair of moving bodies and provided within the case.
The internal substrate is generally constituted by a flexible substrate, and has a pair of resistance circuits with which contact terminals mounted to a pair of moving bodies are slidably in contact. A pair of resistance circuits constitute a pair of volumes together with a pair of contact terminals, and output an electric signal corresponding to a moving position of a pair of moving bodies in the X-Y direction.
In the pointing device mentioned above, it is necessary to supply a power supply source voltage for the volumes from an external circuit. Further, it is necessary to apply an electric signal in the X-Y direction to the external circuit. Accordingly, the internal substrate is electrically connected to the external mounting substrate. Further, as one of connecting aspects thereof, there has been executed a method of drawing a terminal portion in the internal substrate out of the case and inserting it to a connector mounted to the external mounting substrate.
In accordance with the aspect of connecting the internal substrate to the external substrate, the internal substrate is securely connected to the external substrate via the connector. However, in an assembly of an equipment using the pointing device, in addition to an operating of mounting the pointing device to the external substrate, there are required a soldering operation for mounting the connector on the external substrate and an inserting operation for inserting the terminal portion of the internal substrate to the connector, and these two excessive operations cause an assembling operability of the equipment.
Further, there are problems such as an increase of mounting area and an increase of parts cost due to a use of the connector.
The present invention is made by taking the matters mentioned above into consideration, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pointing device which can securely connect an internal substrate to an external substrate in accordance with a simple operation and can reduce a mounting area and a parts cost.
In order to achieve the object mentioned above, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a pointing device comprising:
a case in which at least a bottom plate portion thereof is made of a plastics material or resin, the bottom plate portion being mountable on an external substrate;
a sliding type operating body attached to the case for inputting a signal in an X-Y direction and slideable in all directions along a front surface of the case;
a pair of moving bodies linearly moving in an X direction and a Y direction within the case in response to the sliding operation of the operating body;
an internal substrate provided within the case positioned below a pair of moving bodies and insert molded in the bottom plate portion of the case; and
a terminal member having one end portion electrically connected to the internal substrate, the one end portion being insert molded in the bottom plate portion of the case together with the internal substrate, and another end portion protruding from the case to form a connecting terminal for connecting with an external substrate.
In the pointing device in accordance with the present invention, if the terminal member protruding out of the case is connected to the external substrate, that is, if the pointing device is mounted on the external substrate, the internal substrate is electrically connected to the external substrate. Accordingly, none of an operation of mounting the connector on the external substrate and an operation of inserting the internal substrate to the connector are required, and the connector itself is not required. Further, since the internal substrate and the terminal member are insert molded in the bottom plate portion of the case, it is easy to assemble them in the case and it is possible to intend to make the device thin.
In the case that the case is constituted by a two-piece structure in which an upper case made of a metal plate and a lower case made of a resin are assembled, and the internal substrate and the terminal member are insert molded in a bottom plate portion of the case, a height of the apparatus is further restricted.
In the case that the moving body is constituted by a plate-like metal portion extending in a direction perpendicular to a moving direction, and a resin portion corresponding to a pair of sliders mounted to both end portions of the metal portion and holding the metal portion in such a manner as to move within the case, a height of the device can be further restricted.
Further, in the case that one resin portion or slider provided in the moving body also serves as a holding member of a contact terminal being slidably in contact with a front surface of the internal substrate, and another resin portion or slider also serves as a holding member of a zero return spring, that is, the contact terminal and the return spring are arranged so as to be divided into both sides, it is possible to design the case in a symmetrical shape with respect to a center of the operating body, and it is easy to design a symmetrical equipment.